The Word of His Grace
Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God,
and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up,
and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. (KJV)
On January 1st this year, God spoke to me that
this was a year of unprecedented grace for His people. Even before that
conversation, the word, “grace” and all it can mean was a subject of my
meditation and study. My goodness it is vast, I’m discovering. The
blood of Christ Jesus is the currency that purchased Grace for me and
you. An expensive gift to be sure.
Paul is saying goodbye to several of his converts in this
passage. He is commending (entrusting, committing, giving) them to God
and “the word of His Grace”. Then he defines the function (purpose) of
that word of grace, “Which is able to build you up”! BUILD:
to construct, assemble, restore, erect, put back together, fabricate.
This reminded me of a dream I had years ago:
In 1980 I began my walk of faith and shortly after I began
to have this reoccurring dream. In my dream I found myself each time
walking around this property, which was obviously quite beautiful at one
time. The property was filled with large, mature trees, overgrown bushes
and vast gardens left to waste. In the center stood a three story,
Victorian era house, which was in great disrepair. The screens were torn,
the roof was sagging, the paint was pealing, window panes broken, the structure
rotting. I walked around and through it grieving the loss, wishing I had
the means to restore it to its original splendor.
With each subsequent dream, which each was at least a year
apart, the house and property were in the process of being restored. I
spent a great amount of time in each dream inspecting it in detail. The
gardens were healthier each time, the house was more habitable each time, paint
scraped and replaced, glass repaired, floors repaired and refinished.
In the last dream, I found it almost completely
finished. This time I could climb the stairs to the top (third)
floor. At the top of the stairs I could see into the large room, with
ceiling to floor windows all around the perimeter. It was on very large
ballroom. Seated at the entrance of this floor was a large angel.
He told me I could look in, but could not go in because it wasn’t
finished. I could see the roof leaks had damaged the beautiful wood
floors. The roof was repaired, but the floors were still sagging and
unsafe. I went back down and walked all through the first two floors
again and the restored gardens. On my next visit, I was sure I would see
it complete and I was thrilled. I woke up still excited and told a close
friend about the series of dreams later that day.
She asked me what I thought they meant. I told her I
had always loved beautiful, older homes and gardens and had always hated to see
them going to ruin. She said, with a twinkle in her eye, “Linda, that is
a dream from God, telling you what He is doing in your life. That house
and property represents you.”
His Word of Grace, which I was taking in daily, was building
me up. His word is ALIVE and it brings life. It is the medicine for
a sick and broken life…it is the ONLY medicine. I’m not finished, won’t
be until I am made in His image, but when that happens, I bet I get to dance
with Him on that beautifully restored ballroom floor.
